


You Who Are Family

by TheAzureFox



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Angst, Death, Gen, Ignises have alternate names to avoid repetition, Speculation, Suffering, based on a technical theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 12:06:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12012357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: Ai sacrifices himself for the sake of his family.(speculative fanfic with major character death)





	You Who Are Family

**Author's Note:**

> I really, really wanted to explore more about Ai and the other five A.I.'s since so much of their relationship together and individual personalities have been left up to interpretation thus far. I guess you can say this is my take on how I see each of the Ignises and their connection to not only Ai but Dr. Kogami as well.
> 
> The Ignises are each given latin names corresponding to their 'card game' element (minus one A.I. whose name = Inferno because Ignis already means fire in latin haha) as as to not be repetitive. 
> 
> That said, this fic is not meant to be Yusaku/Ai but I guess if you squint it can be suggestive of that? I dunno, I tried to make it seem like Yusaku's actually partners with Ai and not just an asshole to the poor thing.

Red. Green. Yellow. Orange. Blue.

_Purple._

~~~

Ai knows the risks. Yusaku’s told him enough, told him how extracting the data from his eye could destroy him. He’s aware of the danger, he’s aware of the stakes. But, he’s also aware of what could happen if he refuses.

His human companion stares at him, questions on his lips. Jade eyes glitter, a bitter smile apparent as he taps a finger on Ai’s head.

The creature stares back with tears bubbling in his orange eyes. He’s close to crying, close to admitting defeat and tearing away from the promise he’s made. However, he knows better. Doing such a thing would be the same as proving he’s a coward.

“Are you sure?” Yusaku asks him. Asks him one last time.

“Yes.”

There’s nothing more to be said as the boy plugs white cords into the Duel Disk Ai’s data is contained in. The humanoid program watches him, trying to keep from feeling miserable and selfish by distracting himself with the way Yusaku is acting. The boy tries not to look at him, tries not to stare at his partner and give the creature hope. Ai’s grateful, honestly. He’s hurting inside – they’re _both_ hurting inside, not just him – but it’s a task that must be fulfilled.

“Hey,” he begins, softly, and Yusaku risks a glance at the creature itself. “Thank you.”

The boy gives him a bitter smile. “Yeah.”

Ten million volts of electricity stab into Ai.

~~~

Memories fly before Ai’s eyes.

He sees figures, too many of them, all looking down upon him and calling his name.

Red. Green. Yellow. Orange. Blue.

~~~

“Ai.”

Out of all of them, Infernus is the most ambitious.

A fiery creature of burning passions, Infernus sought the most thrills out of life. He was a seeker of the most pleasant terrors, a brave adventurer who dared to tiptoe into the human world. Infernus was never afraid of anything but he was not stupid. As much as he liked to brag about seeing humans, about being so close to them that he could touch them, the red Ignis knew his boundaries and he knew the rules. To interact with humans, to prove their existence to mortals who thought humans were nothing more than inferior and baffling creatures, was to be a sin. Infernus joked about meeting with them, sure, but they were all aware that jokes were jokes. Not one of them was stupid enough to tamper with the gods of another land.

~~~

His body contorts, pained and agonized.

His flesh bubbles with regret.

Green. Yellow. Orange. Blue.

~~~

“Ai.”

Out of all of them, Ventus is the most calm.

A green humanoid of rational mind, Ventus was perhaps the most logical of their group. He is quick to point out the flaws in others but he is also the swiftest to compare flaws to virtues. He is not silver-tongued but he is not cold-shouldered either. He is a Ignis of sensibility, a dismisser of emotions and the naysayer to any outside probabilities. Ventus does not comprehend humans, _cannot_ comprehend humans, but the unbiased explanations he gives to explain human behavior at least makes humanity seem reasonable in a strange and oddly bizarre way.

~~~

He screams and screams and _screams_.

Ai struggles not to cry, struggles to remain his sanity as electric shocks steal his mind away.

Orange. Yellow. Blue.

~~~

“Ai.”

Out of all of them, Terra is the most cheerful.

For as long as Ai knew him, the humanoid Ignis was always bound to cheer up the rest of his comrades. His insistence on smiling, on being happy when the world reared its head to remind them of their place…it was always well-welcomed. He was always prized by the others for his ability to reassure them, to tell them that the humans were _wrong_ because they were not rejects, they were not mistakes, they were _living beings_ and there was _nothing_ they could do to stop that fact. Having such a cheerleader by their side gave them hope in a world otherwise left to themselves. They were alone, yes, but they had each other. They were a family, as Terra always liked to suggest, and they had to stick together. Ai had held his tongue at such suggestions, knowing the orange Ignis had meant well by such words, but the irony of such meanings was something Ai always held onto.

~~~

Yusaku shouts, Yusaku panics.

Somehow, however, he manages to hold himself together.

Yellow. Blue.

~~~

“Ai.”

Out of all of them, Lux is the most temperamental.

The yellow Ignis had a cynical sense of humor, always poking fun at anyone and anything that made him the slightest bit irritated. Ai likened him to that of an old man – he was grumpy and moody but he had his soft spots on the rarest of days. Lux was the most adamant about isolating themselves from the humans, about ignoring them and living in their own little paradise because _that was what the Cyberse was_. Their god had given them such a world to maintain their lives, to grow and nurture and to protect themselves against the horrors of the outside world. Of course, being the rebellious children that they were, they sought to play around, to learn about what their god had sheltered them from. Such temptations had unwittingly created their fall from paradise but, as Lux would have pointed out, they were “doomed anyways”.

~~~

His eyes burn, blazing with uncontrollable fire that decimates his mind into ashes.

Ai wants to cry but he can’t.

_He can’tHecan’tHecan’t._

Blue.

~~~

“Ai.”

Out of all of them, Aqua is the wisest.

She is the leader, the oldest of them all and perhaps the most loving. She treats all of them as comrades, as “partners-in-crime” and yet she keeps them in line. They respect her but, of course, why wouldn’t they? She was the glue that sewed them together, the needle that kept them from tearing at the seams. They had their differences, she knew, but they were all she had and she was all they had. She was kind, a diving being who encouraged rather than tore apart, but she kept her distance. Despite her words of praise, despite her ceaseless chiding of Ai’s antics, Aqua was no more at peace than the rest of them were. She pretended she was fine, Ai knew, but he saw past her. She hated their god, she hated their destiny, their fate, their _paradise_. She, like the rest of them, no matter what she denied, wanted to live alongside humanity, not to be shunned by it. However, as she well learned, such a wish was nigh impossible to grant.

~~~

 _Purple_.

~~~

When they awaken, they are confused and disoriented. The world around them is a haze, a blurry mess of something beyond the pixels they are used to seeing. They sense the presence of one another and cry out for the touch of their companions, huddling together as the world comes together piece-by-piece.

“Are you all alright?”

A voice sends them shivering and they press themselves closer to one another, scared and afraid and uncertain as the owner of such words manifests before them.

A human.

He reaches out a hand and their leader – a blue female humanoid creature – slaps it away. She stands in front of her partners, arms out and yellow eyes glaring mercilessly as she trembles before him.

“Who are you?” she asks, finding a voice she had long since forgot existed.

“I am Yusaku Fujiki,” the boy says, retracting his limb and staring at them with something in his eyes. Fear? Concern?...Resentment? “And you? I’m guessing you’re the Ignises Ai has been guarding this whole time?”

“Ai?” the green Ignis questions.

“The purple one of you,” he says. “The one whom you’re missing.”

They look amongst themselves and, after a moment, the yellow Ignis frowns. “The Nameless one. You…You gave him a name?”

“Of course,” the boy narrows his eyes, “he has a name. Don’t all of you?”

“…Yes,” the orange Ignis responds.

There’s a moment of silence.

The yellow Ignis steps forward. “Where is he?”

The red one glares with accusations. “What did you do to him?”

Yusaku Fujiki looks away.

The blue Ignis sees him first.

“No…”

On the top of a strange mechanism – a device known as a “Duel Disk” – a limp body lined with purple lays. She approaches with her hands to her mouth, golden eyes observing such a corpse with shock.

“Why?”

“He sacrificed himself to bring you back,” Yusaku snaps and there’s an evident glare in his eyes as he curls his lips at them. “It was _your_ foolishness that led him to this state.”

She looks up to him. “Did you take care of him?”

The human is taken aback by her question. “…He was my partner.”

“I see.”

“Look…I’m sorry, there was no other-“

“Do you want to bring him back?”

The human child blinks at her.

“Of course,” he says, softly. “But that’s impossible now.”

“It’s not,” she holds Ai’s left hand. The others follow her lead, each grabbing onto the creature’s arm and closing their eyes.

There’s a pulse and, as if their actions pressed some kind of trigger, all the lights in Yusaku’s room short-circuit. He watches, his mouth opening in a display of awe as all six Ignises begin to glow with blue and green light.

“There is sincerity in your voice.” Blue says.

“For that, we are grateful.” Orange says.

“He’s like our brother, honestly, no matter how much of a brat he was,” Yellow adds.

“And, as you’ve shown you have cared for him.” Red nods along.

“Then we will bring him back for you.” Green responds.

Blue smiles. “And back for us, too.”

“I…”

There’s more left to say. Ai pulses with light, blue lines running along black and purple skin. The limp corpse fills with luminance and, after a minute of time, the Ignises pull back and Ai goes back to a lifeless doll. They wait for a few seconds and, after seeing no results, they begin to worry.

Blue stares at Ai with panicked concern. “I don’t understand, he was supposed to have woken up. We should have the ability to revive him but-!”

A twitch. A convulsion. Ai’s body spasms and they all watch in a kind of horror as he rises with soulless black eyes.

“Ai?” Yusaku asks.

“Nameless?” the other five inquire.

Black eyes blink and orange fills the void. A confused humanoid creature stares back at them, lost and empty and dazed beyond belief. They all hold their breath, watching, waiting.

The first words out of his mouth?

“ _Yusaku!_ ”

He jumps forward, bounding off the duel disk to nuzzle up against the boy. Yusaku laughs, leaning against the Ignises touch and failing to keep the smile from his face.

“How’d you bring me back?” the creature asks, pressing his fingers against the boy’s cheek.

“Your family,” he says, gaze directed in the direction of five other Ignises..

Ai turns around to face them and sobers up instantly, shying away from them as they step forward.

“Nameless,” Aqua says and then shakes her head. “No, Ai now. We’re…we’re sorry. You saved us, brought us back to life at the sake of your own and…and...”

“We’re sorry,” Ventus adds. “We misjudged you.”

Lux nods. “You’re as much a guardian of the Cyberse as we are.”

“We hadn’t meant to isolate you,” Terra rubs the back of his head. “We really do love you, you know.”

“You’re still our brother,” Infernus agrees. “And you saved us, brought us back. For that, you have our utmost respect.”

Ai clutches onto Yusaku’s collar, clenching it in his hands. He looks at the boy and then Yusaku nods, urging him forward. The black humanoid creature moves forward, stepping step-by-step until he comes to greet Aqua.

“Am I really welcome? Will you really accept me again?”

There’s a patient sigh and then Aqua takes his hands.

“We already have.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, since this show has kind of delved into biblical references (though, unless I'm wrong, it sounded like Revolver was talking about "God" but yet he was also taking about Prometheus, the Greek God who gave fire to humans...?), I decided to latch onto that concept and interpret in in my own way.
> 
> My interpretation comes in the form of "paradise" (the Cyberse) and "god" (Dr. Kogami). I feel like, in some ways, the Cyberse was the "paradise" that Adam and Eve (perhaps the chess pieces in this case? Maybe even the King and Queen?) sought yet, when they ate from the apples of temptation (aka they created beings of free will, played god and gave life to something that could not exist), they were cast out by "god" (perhaps Dr. Kogami who presumably stole away/destroyed the Ignises?) and made a near-modern parallel to the biblical story of the beginning of humanity (or, in this case, the beginning of creating free will in things that were not supposed to be given sentience). 
> 
> ...Geez that's a run-on sentence if I've ever seen one. The point is, I feel like the story behind the Ignises potentially mirrors that of Adam and Eve, with the Cyberse being the paradise of the stories and with Dr. Kogami acting as the god who created those golden apples of temptations - the six A.I.'s we know and cherish. Of course, this is just my personal take on it written into story format but I certainly feel like the possibility of such a parallel exists.


End file.
